Renewal of Vows

We are going with family & friends in December for our 40th anniversary, and can't get any call backs about the NCL renewal of vows. Has anyone done it? Is it worth the $500? Who does it, when & where? Seems like it can be personalized, but not sure to what extent. Most have UBP, so can we include a toast? The cake is only a 6"- for 20 people?

We had looked into this back in 2012 because we were actually going to be on a cruise on the day of our anniversary. In the end, we decided that it was not worth $500. You get a ship officer, but necessarily the captain. I was told I could request a day but could not be guaranteed the day I wanted. So, we used the money we saved towards our shore excursions and also booked Cagney's on the night of our anniversary.

We are going with family & friends in December for our 40th anniversary, and can't get any call backs about the NCL renewal of vows. Has anyone done it? Is it worth the $500? Who does it, when & where? Seems like it can be personalized, but not sure to what extent. Most have UBP, so can we include a toast? The cake is only a 6"- for 20 people?

I was in the chapel on the Jewel (I think) for another purpose, when a couple, their young daughter, and a friend came in for their own renewal of vows. While they invited us to stay (we did have the chapel reserved but really as just a meeting place), we elected to leave rather than be witnesses. While I considered it a bit odd at the time, it certainly was a unique way to renew vows. My experience is that, most times, the chapel is not used for formal services.

We renewed our vows in 2015 on the Getaway and paid extra for the Captain to perform the service (I don't think that's an option any longer.) I asked that the ceremony be on our anniversary and it was scheduled after we left port that day. It was just us and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, so a very small party, but it was very nice.

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We had looked into this back in 2012 because we were actually going to be on a cruise on the day of our anniversary. In the end, we decided that it was not worth $500. You get a ship officer, but necessarily the captain. I was told I could request a day but could not be guaranteed the day I wanted. So, we used the money we saved towards our shore excursions and also booked Cagney's on the night of our anniversary.

A good decision, after 46 years marriage my motto remains if it ain't bust, don't fix it! $500 can buy a lot of celebration but only 6" of cake😳

We did it on our 5th. It was well worth the money (it was only the two of us aboard). We knew a few staff and crew and they were all given permission to attend and witness. It really was special.

We are cruising in Nov for our 10th anniversary and I researched this a lot. $500 seems to be the going rate on land and at sea for a basic vow renewal package, but what you get for the $ differs. Ultimately we decided to do our service right before the cruise on land, because a package that price includes photography too, which was important to us. If we were in a less port specific cruise (we're going to Hawaii) with less natural beauty and not a million vendors offering this, a service on the ship would have been nice.

A lot of the reviews here are older but it sounds like the vow renewal can be done in various places on the ship, including a balcony, not just in the chapel.

We did it on our 5th. It was well worth the money (it was only the two of us aboard). We knew a few staff and crew and they were all given permission to attend and witness. It really was special.

Anyone know how far in advance this needs to be booked? Again, can't seem to get any info from NCL, and if we do a renewal on shore I need time to plan that instead.

PS- love your names!